The mother of an abandoned toddler has turned herself in to San Pablo Police, according to that department's Sgt. Dave Lewellyn.
Lewellyn told KTVU that the mom told investigators that she did it because she thought she was an unfit mother.
Police the woman, 40-year-old Saundra Samuel, said she was watching the news on TV Thursday morning and saw a report on her son. She told investigators she walked from her home in Richmond to San Pablo and called them.
Officers sent a patrol car to pick her up and took her to the police station. After interviewing with investigators, Samuel was arrested and booked on suspicion of child endangerment and child desertion.
Lewellyn told Bay City News investigators think she has other children, but they didn't know who was caring them.
As of this morning, police didn't have any information about the abandoned boy's father.
Wednesday morning, witnesses called police after they saw a woman leaving a child on Valencia Way in San Pablo and then ran to an awaiting yellow-colored taxi.
Police said the boy does not speak clearly, but appears to be in good health. Neighbors said they noticed him standing out in a front yard alone and called 911. He did not appear upset or traumatized when police arrived.
The toddler has been placed in child protective custody, pending the investigation.
Investigators said they spent all of Wednesday calling East Bay cab companies, but couldn't come up with any leads.
